It's 10 a.m. on the 10th day of a New Year, and I'm just getting to my first post of 2014. This week has been a little crazy—need I say more than Polar Vortex?
Yes, it's been cold here. And we've been thinking a lot about the homeless in our city (shelters have been filling up).
As it happens, Santa Claus brought the kids a very timely book this winter called GREAT JOY by Kate DiCamillo. It's not only timely because of the current climate, time of year, and subject matter of the book (which features a homeless man), but also because Ms. DiCamillo was recently named the Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Our family couldn't be more thrilled with this selection!
Today, the weather is finally above freezing and school is back in session. Thank goodness, because next week we're welcoming two girls from Peru into our home who have never seen snow. One of them emailed me to say her favorite books are Pride and Prejudice and Divergent—I can tell we're going to get along swimmingly. If that's not an invitation for joy, what is?
Recently, we also learned that our family in St. Lucia is all OK after the Christmas Eve flooding rains that caused mudslides and widespread damage. All in all, we have a lot of GREAT JOY to celebrate.
Before I get to today's perfect picture book, I do want to share one more piece of SUPER AWESOME AMAZING EXCITING GREAT JOY. To be honest, it's not more joyful to me than that previous piece of good news I shared about our family being OK in St. Lucia. But it is worth large, highlighted font.
The contract arrived yesterday, and I am thrilled to be blessed with another forthcoming book! Since it's slated for 2016, there's lots of time for me to post more about it, and I'll spare the details thus far. (Warning: the suspense may kill you.)
I'll also spare the huge long "thank you list" of everyone I know who has helped me to realize my writing and publishing goals—for now, anyway. But know that you are appreciated far more than I might ever express on this blog, in a thank you card, or in person.
It is on that note of almost-make-you-sick bubbly gladness that I review GREAT JOY by Kate DiCamillo, today's Perfect Picture Book. (And I promise to return to my more usual, less-squeaky tone and witty sarcasm in future posts.)
Title: Great Joy
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Bagram Ibatoulline
Publisher: Candlewick, 2007
Genre: Fiction / Historical Fiction
Category: Picture Book
Ages: 4-8
Topic/Subject: Christmas, New York, Homelessness
Opening Line: "The week before Christmas, a monkey appeared on the corner of Fifth and Vine." (Isn't that a great first line?!)
Why I chose this book: See above. Plus it has GOLD endpapers. This book looks like it's a hundred-year-old classic of great worth and importance and reads like a story anyone in any time period will appreciate. It's text is spare and contemporary, yet poetic in sense and detail. It's a great conversation starter for children and a reminder to parents not to let our busy-ness or fears get in the way of the love for all people. You know, that uncomplicated and amazing innocence, empathy and affinity for inclusion we had as a child? Trust me, we all still have it, and this book reminds us to embrace it.
Resources:
Kate DiCamillo's Website: http://www.katedicamillo.com/books/great.html
PBS Kids has ways that kids can take action to help the hungry and homeless here: http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/action/way02.html
Thank you for visiting. If you want to read about more Perfect Picture Books, head on over to Susanna Leonard Hill's blog. And if you missed my last Perfect Picture Book review on Seven Spools of Thread over the holidays, here it is.
I promise to reveal more about my new forthcoming book soon!
Yes, it's been cold here. And we've been thinking a lot about the homeless in our city (shelters have been filling up).
As it happens, Santa Claus brought the kids a very timely book this winter called GREAT JOY by Kate DiCamillo. It's not only timely because of the current climate, time of year, and subject matter of the book (which features a homeless man), but also because Ms. DiCamillo was recently named the Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Our family couldn't be more thrilled with this selection!
Today, the weather is finally above freezing and school is back in session. Thank goodness, because next week we're welcoming two girls from Peru into our home who have never seen snow. One of them emailed me to say her favorite books are Pride and Prejudice and Divergent—I can tell we're going to get along swimmingly. If that's not an invitation for joy, what is?
Recently, we also learned that our family in St. Lucia is all OK after the Christmas Eve flooding rains that caused mudslides and widespread damage. All in all, we have a lot of GREAT JOY to celebrate.
Before I get to today's perfect picture book, I do want to share one more piece of SUPER AWESOME AMAZING EXCITING GREAT JOY. To be honest, it's not more joyful to me than that previous piece of good news I shared about our family being OK in St. Lucia. But it is worth large, highlighted font.
I SOLD MY THIRD BOOK!!!
The contract arrived yesterday, and I am thrilled to be blessed with another forthcoming book! Since it's slated for 2016, there's lots of time for me to post more about it, and I'll spare the details thus far. (Warning: the suspense may kill you.)
I'll also spare the huge long "thank you list" of everyone I know who has helped me to realize my writing and publishing goals—for now, anyway. But know that you are appreciated far more than I might ever express on this blog, in a thank you card, or in person.
It is on that note of almost-make-you-sick bubbly gladness that I review GREAT JOY by Kate DiCamillo, today's Perfect Picture Book. (And I promise to return to my more usual, less-squeaky tone and witty sarcasm in future posts.)
Title: Great Joy
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Bagram Ibatoulline
Publisher: Candlewick, 2007
Genre: Fiction / Historical Fiction
Category: Picture Book
Ages: 4-8
Topic/Subject: Christmas, New York, Homelessness
Opening Line: "The week before Christmas, a monkey appeared on the corner of Fifth and Vine." (Isn't that a great first line?!)
Why I chose this book: See above. Plus it has GOLD endpapers. This book looks like it's a hundred-year-old classic of great worth and importance and reads like a story anyone in any time period will appreciate. It's text is spare and contemporary, yet poetic in sense and detail. It's a great conversation starter for children and a reminder to parents not to let our busy-ness or fears get in the way of the love for all people. You know, that uncomplicated and amazing innocence, empathy and affinity for inclusion we had as a child? Trust me, we all still have it, and this book reminds us to embrace it.
Resources:
Kate DiCamillo's Website: http://www.katedicamillo.com/books/great.html
PBS Kids has ways that kids can take action to help the hungry and homeless here: http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/action/way02.html
Thank you for visiting. If you want to read about more Perfect Picture Books, head on over to Susanna Leonard Hill's blog. And if you missed my last Perfect Picture Book review on Seven Spools of Thread over the holidays, here it is.
I promise to reveal more about my new forthcoming book soon!
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